51% Show #1280

The sheer numbers of the baby boomer generation are leading to another crisis... and this time it's about getting older. The caretaker cliff is coming – and we'll talk with a woman who predicts that if we don't build a bridge soon, we're in big trouble.

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51% #1280

According to a study sponsored by the American Association of Retired Persons, the typical American caregiver is a 49 year old married woman with a job, who is also taking care of her elderly mother in her mother's home. More than 69 million people – 29 percent of the population, spend 20 hours a week taking care of an elderly, chronically ill or disabled loved one. The monetary value of that so-called free caregiving is more than twice what is paid to nursing homes and homecare combined. But there's a high cost in stress, health, time lost at work, and there are no government policies in place to offer real help. According to Stella Nsong, an Ohio RN who is an expert on geriatric care management and long term planning management, the number of caregivers is ballooning – and soon those caregivers will need care themselves.

Stella Nsong is a registered nurse, a geriatric care expert, an author and the writer of the Elder Care Cliff Report.

Coming up, how the media impacted the civil rights movement. If you missed part of this show or want to share it, visit the 51% archives at wamc.org. This week’s show is #1280.

The Civil Rights Movement was the United States’ first major domestic news story to be televised. And if you think what America saw was exactly what was going on – that's not quite the case. The media, in fact, helped break down the color barrier simply with a little editing. Allison Quantz speaks with the author of a book that explores TV's relationship to the movement.

And finally, bucking the system is never comfortable. And it may be hard to imagine now, but there was a time not long ago when a woman who wanted an education was considered a dangerous subversive. Gilles Malkine explains in another installment of his series on women in history.

Gilles Malkine is a writer, musician and actor. He lives in New York's Catskill mountains.

That’s our show for this week. Thanks to Katie Britton for production assistance. Our theme music is by Kevin Bartlett. This show is a national production of Northeast Public Radio. Our executive producer is Dr. Alan Chartock.